Amazon Companion

by Roseau, Robin

  We rode quietly for a few minutes.

  "I was a good teacher," I finally declared.

  "I have no doubt," Nori said.

  "I am a poor Amazon."

  "That is not how I would put it."

  "You took a good teacher from people who needed her and took me to where I am hopeless."

  "Am I holding you like you are hopeless? You could have let us take your sister."

  "No!"

  "So here we are. I am not going to apologize."

  "Am I going to get better?"

  "Of course. And if you actually decide you want to get better, maybe you won't feel the tip of the whip so often."

  "So often?"

  "I don't believe you are ever likely to be so motivated you won't need a little extra motivation."

  "I was hoping it was an initial incentive, and as I grew stronger, you would put the whip away."

  "You can believe that if you like. It isn't how good you are, it is how hard you work. You quit early."

  No one had ever said that to me before. I didn't like it, but I had to admit she was right. I vowed to do better, but I must admit, it was a vow I broke. I couldn't help it, any more than my poor math students could help it, perhaps.

  "We're supposed to talk about happy topics," I finally said.

  "I like talking about training strategies. Don't you? What did you do to motivate your students?"

  "I tried to make math fun."

  She didn't respond.

  "What?" I asked.

  "I'm thinking."

  "Oh, please. Like you never thought of that."

  "Oh, we make training fun, but I realized you haven't seen it."

  "I don't think it will help."

  "Probably not."

  I elbowed her. Gently.

  "What would you do?" she asked.

  "Games. Points. I made them compete against themselves, not each other. With math, that is easy. There is one right answer to most math problems, although there can be more than one way of getting there."

  "What else?"

  "Gold stars. Recognition. If a student struggled, I didn't hold the clock against him. What mattered was that he did the work and turned it in. I could work on the clock later, but if the clock becomes the absolute, and a student doesn't believe he can beat the clock, then he doesn't even try. I offer praise for improvement or, for a student that is struggling, praise for honest effort."

  "Tomorrow we will show you fun. You are not ready to participate, and I do not believe you will find it fun. Even if you hate our fun, we are not going to lighten your training."

  "I didn't think you would."

  "It is customary for the companions to wager."

  "What do they wager?"

  "Usually kitchen duty. No one will wager against Malora though, or me, except at the end."

  "At the end?"

  "Team competitions. Do not be offended when Malora does not allow you to participate. It is possible Neela and Aura will, but if they were my companions, they would not."

  "All right."

  We rode for another few minutes, talking about incentives when teaching. Then Nori told me, "I am going to remove your blindfold." She did just that, and I blinked in the light.

  Through the trees, I could see the village.

  "You guided the horse!"

  "Are you accusing me? Would you like to settle the dispute on the training ground?"

  "No. Allow me to rephrase. Did you guide the horse?"

  "No."

  "I didn't. I know I didn't. He knows the way."

  "Yes."

  I laughed. "Does mine?"

  "Yes."

  "Another way to get home?"

  "If you don't get her too lost. She can probably find her way home from any point within an hour or two. Beyond that, perhaps not. So if you get lost?"

  "Tell her to take us home and perhaps break branches in case she is just as lost as I am."

  "Why would you break branches?"

  "Two reasons. To make it easier for you to find me, and to signal that I wasn't intentionally running away. If I were intentionally running, I wouldn't blaze a path straight to me. Also, if you have a clear path, you can move faster and with more confidence, so if we're going the wrong way, you'll catch up to us."

  "You can hang something from a branch at the first point you realize you're lost."

  I nodded, and then we dismounted.

  This is Fun

  The "fun" was in the morning. We did our stretches like always, then ran, again like always. I remembered what Nori had said about my being lazy, and I tried harder, but I still earned one swat with the whip.

  I didn't know how much they wanted from me. I thought I was running as hard as I could, but after the swat, I ran faster, at least for a while.

  But then Nori said, "Today we are to have a tournament."

  There were cheers from some of the women and puzzled looks from the other new companions. Immediately some of the warriors began taunting each other, and nearly everyone looked excited.

  "The warriors will all compete," Nori announced. "Queen Malora?"

  "I will help officiate," she replied. "My companion is not ready."

  Aura and Neela turned to their warriors, and I could see the hopeful looks on their faces.

  "You will perform poorly," Gaylie told Aura.

  "Please," Aura replied.

  "Of course," she said. And that meant Lidi gave Neela permission to compete as well. I didn't understand it. Why would they want to fight if they didn't have to?

  "I know you want to make wagers," Nori said. Then I watched as the warriors wagered on their companions and the companions wagered on their warriors.

  Once the wagers seemed settled, Nori separated the warriors from the companions with Nori officiating the warrior battles and Malora the companions. They timed it so one fight would begin immediately after another ended, and everyone was able to watch every match. I sat at the edge, looking back and forth, mystified why anyone called this fun.

  But I remembered what Nori said about my being lazy. I spent the entire time I was watching working on my stretching exercises. I wasn't sure what else I could do.

  In the end, Vorine, Ree's companion, was the champion of the companions, and Gaylie was champion of the warriors present.

  "This afternoon we will have team competitions," Nori announced. "And perhaps Malora will offer us a surprise."

  "Perhaps I will," she said, laughing.

  Nori turned to me. "Everyone else worked hard."

  "I've been stretching."

  "And now you will run. Go."

  "Yes, Nori." I climbed to my feet and ran. No one chased me with a whip, and I'm sure I ran a little slower because of it, but I ran long and hard, not stopping until Malora began running alongside me, then gave me permission to slow down, then walk.

  She threw an arm over my shoulder. She was full of joy. "What did you think?"

  I didn't want to answer her, so I covered my reaction by continuing to pant. I hoped she would drop it as she steered us towards our hut. I couldn't feign being out of breath the entire way, and she asked, "Well?"

  "I don't know," I said.

  "Did you enjoy it?"

  "I don't know." I said it quietly.

  She pulled me into our hut without any further questions then turned me to face her. "I want the truth."

  "I don't understand."

  "You don't understand my wanting the truth?"

  "I don't understand why anyone wants to do that. Nori said it was supposed to be fun, and everyone seemed so excited."

  "Don't you compete in Gallen's Cove?"

  "The men compete for about practically everything," I said. "Most fish caught. Biggest fish caught. First fish caught. Biggest fish not caught."

  "Not caught?"

  "Biggest lie."

  She laughed. "Right."

  "I'm glad I'm a woman," I said.

  "I'm glad you are, too," Malora replied, and sh
e gave me an appreciative look. She hadn't looked at me that way, and it made me uncomfortable.

  "Knock it off."

  She frowned. "I didn't mean to embarrass you. I was teasing."

  "Were you?" I asked.

  She turned away. "I thought-" She paused. "Never mind what I thought."

  I stepped up closer and touched her tentatively. "I'm not ready for you to look at me like that yet."

  "Yet?" She turned back.

  "I don't want to talk about this right now."

  "We can talk about it another time?"

  "Yes. But not when I'm upset."

  "You're upset?"

  "Everyone tried to hurt each other. We're supposed to be friends. Omie almost beaned her own sister in the head."

  "It's friendly competition. Like the men and their fish."

  "They have other games. And sometimes they fight with each other, just to fight. But not the women. They fight in other ways."

  "Oh?"

  "With words, usually subtle words. I find it very ugly."

  "I, too, find that type of fighting ugly. Did anyone seem angry?"

  "No."

  "This is how we test ourselves safely." She paused. "Imagine you want to be a warrior."

  "I don't!"

  "Imagine."

  "All right. I want to be a warrior."

  "Being a warrior means fighting demons. But you've never fought a demon, and you don't know if you're ready. But Lidi has fought demons. If you fight Lidi and beat her, then you're probably ready to fight a demon, too. Even if Lidi beats you, you might be ready. But if she beats you easily, maybe you aren't."

  "I'll never beat Lidi," I said.

  "Probably not," Malora replied. "I told you the first day, you will probably never be a warrior, and I will do everything I can to be sure you aren't. And perhaps you don't have the same motivation everyone else does. They all want to be warriors."

  "Even Serra?"

  "Perhaps not Serra, but she is an Amazon at heart."

  I looked down. "Thank you for not making me compete."

  "You're not ready."

  "I'll never be ready."

  "Don't be silly. Of course you will. You are unlikely to win, and you may not do well, but in a few months, you'll be ready to compete. And sooner in the less dangerous competitions."

  I knew she was wrong.

  "You didn't have any fun?"

  "No."

  "Are you looking forward to seeing me fight this afternoon?"

  I looked up. "Nori said it would be team competitions. What does that mean."

  "Probably a warrior and her companion."

  "Some of warriors are gone, and Karena has no companion." I narrowed my eyes. "Are you going to make me fight with you?"

  "No." She grinned. "The teams will fight me."

  "Alone?" I squeaked. "That's not fair."

  "I am the queen for a reason, Maya. Don't you want to see me fight?"

  "You could get hurt."

  "If I do, will you massage my bruises?"

  "You could get hurt worse than bruises."

  "I won't."

  "I don't want to watch."

  She ruffled my hair. "I have duties."

  "As do I," I admitted.

  * * * *

  If the morning competitions were hard to watch, the afternoon competitions were even worse. They partnered up, usually a warrior and her companion. Omie's warrior was gone, so she partnered with Karena. Lidi and Gaylie were at a severe disadvantage, as their companions were Neela and Aura, who hadn't been here any longer than I had.

  In the end, it was Clara and Bea who won, barely beating Ree and Vorine in a tie-breaking match.

  Malora immediately challenged Clara and Bea to a match, and she was amazing to watch, but I was so frightened for her. She beat them easily and was barely winded at the end but was beaming.

  "Nori and Malora!" the women began to chant. "Nori and Malora!"

  The two turned to each other, grinned, and then stood shoulder to shoulder and said, "Sure. Against whom?"

  There was laughter, and then Lidi said, "Each other, of course."

  Nori laughed, and Malora said, "I don't think so. The two of us against all of you." She looked at me. "Except you."

  "Wager!" Clara called out.

  I popped to my feet and said loudly. "I wager on my warrior."

  The crowd grew still. I had been so quiet. Every face turned to me. "What do you have?" Omie asked me.

  "Kitchen duty," I said.

  "She sews quite well, too," Malora said.

  "Only repairs," I added. "And I have no materials."

  "Kitchen dinner for two nights," Omie said.

  "Do all of you want the same wager?" I asked. The companions exchanged glances, then turned to me and said, "Sure."

  I counted. "That's too many dinners if my warrior loses. A dinner and either a breakfast or lunch."

  "Agreed," Omie said immediately for all of them.

  Then Gaylie spoke up. "That wager is worthless to me."

  "And I would very much like to have my clothing repaired," Karena said. She turned to Malora and Nori. "Or perhaps you prefer the warriors make their wagers with you and not your companion."

  Malora glanced over at me. "I am heartened my companion carries faith in me. She may wager on me if she chooses."

  Karena turned back to me. "You will repair my clothing?"

  "And if my warrior and her right hand should win?"

  "I have a bear hide to offer."

  "You must need a lot of repairs," Malora interjected.

  "Not so many," Karena replied. "I thought perhaps I could be owed future repairs."

  "I am willing," I said, "but I will not repair your clothing forever."

  "Bear hides are uncommon," Karena said. "I believe it is worth my current backlog plus my repairs for the coming year."

  "I presume you will not suddenly become disrespectful of your clothing."

  Her eyes narrowed.

  "I am still learning Amazon ways, Karena," I said. "If my question was insulting, it was not intended that way. My apologies."

  "Of course," she said. "No, I do not seek to abuse you. I seek a fair offer."

  I glanced at Malora, and she nodded fractionally once. "Agreed," I said.

  Serra suggested, "You and I could wager stable duty. One week."

  "Am I wagering more time than I have if I lose?" I asked. "I have your wager, Karena's repairs, and everyone else's kitchen duty to contemplate."

  "Perhaps," she replied. "Three days."

  "Three days."

  "If we win," Serra said, "your three days begins when my warrior returns."

  "I would wager a deer hide," Clara said, "but I do not know what you have that my companion does not already attend to for me."

  I wanted the deer hide.

  "I am a teacher," I said. "Perhaps there is something I can teach you."

  There were chuckles at that. "What can you teach me that I can not teach you better?"

  I smiled. "To read."

  "I can already read."

  "Mathematics. History. Logic. Music. Philosophy."

  She offered a tiny bow. "While these subjects may have value elsewhere, they have little value to an Amazon. Anything else?"

  "I am sorry," I said. "I came with nothing but the clothes on my back." I glanced at Nori. "Someone was too busy tying me up to allow me a chance to bring even my fiddle, much less anything you may find worthy winnings for a wager."

  I noticed Lidi talking quietly to Neela. "I have no deer hide," Lidi said to me, "but I would be willing to owe you my next large skin. You can teach someone to play music? What instrument?"

  "Any instrument," I said. "For myself I play fiddle and piano, but I have neither here."

  "On the wall of my hut I have a guitar," Lidi said.

  "You wish me to teach you to play it?"

  "No. I wish you to teach my companion to play for me."

  "I can teach her the basics
of the guitar and a few simple songs. They will require a singer in accompaniment."

  "Neela has a fine voice," Lidi said, gazing fondly at her companion for a moment.

  "Guitar is an instrument that one can teach oneself after learning the basics," I said. "I can teach the basics, and Neela can teach herself after that."

  "I have a fiddle," Benala said. "It was mine as a child."

  "You wish me to teach you or Omie, your companion?"

  "Omie."

  I thought about it. "The fiddle is a far more difficult instrument than guitar," I said. "What I would be willing to teach in exchange for a deer hide is not enough that she will produce music when we are done."

  "You could accept more than one skin," Benala suggested.

  "I am concerned about the size of the debt I will accrue if my warrior loses this match." I glanced at all of them. "The odds are against them, and I have been taking even wagers. I should perhaps have asked for odds."

  "Perhaps," Benala said. "Perhaps not. Then one hide, and you will teach as much as you can in exchange, and I will look for other opportunities to win more lessons for my companion."

  "I have seen your companion fight," I pointed out. "Will she remain your companion much longer?"

  Benala laughed. "No, but this is the wager I wish." She gazed fondly at Omie. "I would very much enjoy listening to her produce music."

  Some of the warriors were consulting with each other, then they turned to me. "Lidi has agreed to allow the use of her guitar if you can also teach our companions."

  "In exchange for?"

  "Skins. You seem to value them."

  I laughed. "Yes."

  I had wagers with everyone, and if Malora and Nori lost, my debt would be huge. Clara was studying me. "I do not wish my companion to borrow an instrument. If I obtain an instrument, can you teach her to play it?"

  "There are few instruments as easy to teach as guitar," I pointed out.

  "Then you will offer the same agreement you made with Benala and her fiddle? You can teach the instrument I obtain?"

  "I should be careful in making that promise," I said. "If you bring an instrument I have never seen, it may be some time before I know the instrument well enough to teach it."

  "Flute?"

  "I can teach flute."

  "Drum?"